Q&A with Bruno Catelin

How long have you been involved in hockey as a player and/or referee?
I started playing Ice Hockey when I was 13 years old in Lyon in 1967-1968. I was the Under-15 champion of France with Lyon in April of 1970. I then moved to play for the Paris Français Volants (Flying Frenchmen Ice Hockey Club of Paris) and was a 5-time Champion of France at the Under 16, Under 18 and Under 20 levels. I played in the National Selections from 1970 to 1978. I have also played 2 seasons in the Top League with the Bears of Villard de Lans in the Alps.

I first became a linesman and then referee for 20 years in the Top League in France and 18 seasons as an International IIHF Referee. I have been a linesman for the the European Cup final between CSKA Moscow and Dukla Jilhava, a referee for 2 European Cup semi-finals and many other games in the event. I have been a referee for 18 World and European Championships and at the Izvestia Cup in Moscou 1993. I have also been a referee for a qualification Olympic game between Switzerland and Slovenia. I have officiated roughly 1200 games and was named the best referee in France on more than one occasion.


Have you participated in a CARHA Hockey World Cup?
I have participated two times. I played in the 2012 CHWC in Sault Ste. Marie and 2016 CHWC in Windsor with the Global Team, and my friend George Nickerson.

How did you get into playing hockey living in France?
I started playing when I was 13 in Lyon, the same year I watched ice hockey at the Olympics held in Grenoble, France.

Have you been to Canada before?
I have been to Canada many times. I attended two referee camps in Montreal and one with the IIHF in Toronto in 1987. I was also a referee for a Major Junior game. My son played two years in Quebec at the Bantam level and in Saskatchewan with the Notre Dame Hounds. Then, he played NCAA in New York State.

It will be my first time in BC, so I am very excited to visit a new province!


Tell us about your favourite hockey memory/story as a referee. 
My favorite referee moments include officiating the Izvestia Cup in Moscow in 1993, the Junior World Championship in Sapporo Japan 1988. I also cherish my time at the IIHF camp in Toronto. The Big Top League game in Paris Arena with 12,000 people is also on my list of favourite hockey moments.